A multiple function wall cover plate has been disclosed in several prior patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,714,725, 6,810,204, 6,832,794, and 6,839,506, but the prior multiple function wall cover plates have a relatively thick housing and are very dangerously to children because the chemical refill can easily be removed. The current invention uses a screw to security lock all components and prevent children from touching chemical containing components. In addition, whereas the thicker body of the prior multiple function wall cover plates are too ugly because the multiple function components are added-on the existing wall cover plate, the current invention's concept is to replace the existing wall cover plate so that the thickness will be much less than that of the prior art. In particular, the current invention uses a conventional commercially available refill component which has the dimension 6.5 cm (Length)×3.5 cm (Width)×0.8 cm (High) and simply installs it on the back housing to reduce thickness and improve appearance.
The current invention incorporates (1) an air freshener, and (2) a nightlight, which may include an electro-luminescent (E.L.) element, LED, incandescent light, fiber optics, a fluorescent light, or a black tube, and related circuitry for the light source, and (3) a receptacle arrangement (which may include any number of receptacles) to let the wall cover plate offer the best functions to consumers.
Other prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,716,256; 6,657,380; 6,642,452; 6,413,598; 6,388,345; 6,342,995; 6,089,893; 6,086,211; 6,050,716; 5,934,451; 5,899,549; 5,842,763; 5,683,166; 5,670,776; 5,660,459; 5,637,930; 5,586,879; 5,544,025; 5,485,356; 5,407,721; 5,117,734; 4,924,349; 4,774,641; 4,755,913; 4,739,187; 4,617,613; 4,546,419; 4,514,789; 4,255,780; 4,240,090; 4,038,582; and 3,895,225, as well as the Inventor's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,280,053; 6,171,117; 6,170,958; and 6,183,101. None of these prior art patents discloses a multiple function wall cover plate having a plurality of functions including (1) fragrance(s), (2) receptacle(s), and (3) nightlight(s) to easily replace the original wall outlet's cover plate and provide electricity delivery from the prong(s) of the multiple functions wall cover plate as in the current invention described below, and in particular, a multiple function wall cover plate having the shape and thickness of an existing wall outlet and a safety screw to prevent children from touching any parts of a refill, the nightlight, or the receptacle.